Fate II

CCXXIII

In the month that had passed since Sinbad passed down his punishment, the Royal Palace was silent. No longer was laughter heard in the Royal Garden during the afternoon and no longer did the Royal Queen show herself as the Royal Palace which once shone brilliantly in the presence of the Queen was soon covered with a blanket of dull, gray darkness.

Since the day Kaede stood in front of Sikandar and made him openly face reality, Sikandar never again asked to see Lucy. Rather, he simply stood silently outside the Soleil Palace and gazed from afar. The Palace which he once had free entry to now forbade even a single step from him and rather than swallowing the bitter feelings of frustration, he could only stand there in silence, knowing that this was the consequence of his selfishness. Without even a single meeting taking place between the two, the servants, guards, and officials could only watch solemnly on, thinking of how the two who once shared such a close relationship seemed to slowly be drifting apart. But, that was hardly the case. Just as Sikandar missed the warmth and affection of his mother, Lucy, too, missed him greatly to the point where she would often gaze at him from afar using a long-distance projection spell.

"Spying on him again?" Kaede walked in just as Lucy was watching through the projection spell.

Lucy pouted. "Must you phrase it like that?"

Kaede chuckled. "What else should I call it if not that?"

"Call it protectively watching from afar. I'm just checking up on him, making sure he's doing well and eating his meals."

"So spying."

"It's not spying!"

Kaede laughed, unable to stop teasing her once he saw that cute, pouting expression of hers. Setting down a plate of various kinds of food in front of her that she could easily digest without feeling nauseous, Lucy dispelled the projection spell as he sat down across from her and stared at her in contentment.

"Is it good?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed, eating happily. "Anything that Kaede makes is delicious!"

He smiled. She was now three months pregnant and with autumn approaching, he had worried that her condition would begin deteriorating but, seeing her so abundant with life and joy like this, he was glad. He had to give Sinbad some credit for if it were not for him, she probably wouldn't be as lively as she is now.

"Greetings to Your Royal Majesty the Queen."

Kaede and Lucy perked up and seeing who it was, the two softened their eyes as Kaede watched Lucy's eyes light up with affection.

"Masud."

Accompanying Masrur, the two had just returned from the training grounds after a thorough shower and came to the Soleil Palace bearing sweets that they had been making recently. Of course, they always appeared at the right time, knowing that Lucy would soon be done with her meal and would want something sweet. Masud set down the basket of sweets that he had made and Masrur bent down, gently taking Lucy's hand and kissing the back of it, his crimson eyes gazing intently at hers with sole endearment and passionate yearning.

"Did you just come from the training grounds?" Lucy asked, chuckling as she gazed at Masrur with the same, affectionate eyes.

He nodded his head, hiding the fact that he quickly took a shower, used cleansing magic to make himself look presentable, and rushed over here to see her. Kaede laughed to himself at seeing Masrur, who was usually so indifferent to everything, treat anything related to Lucy with the highest priority. It just showed how deeply in love he was with her.